DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd T/A Cleanaway
(AG2021/5847)

CLEANAWAY LATROBE (MUNICIPAL) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020

Waste management industry
COMMISSIONER CIRKOVIC	MELBOURNE, 14 JULY 2021

Application for approval of the Cleanaway Latrobe (Municipal) Enterprise Agreement 2020.

[1] Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd T/A Cleanaway (the Applicant) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Cleanaway Latrobe (Municipal) Enterprise Agreement 2020 (the Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The matter was allocated to my Chambers on 5 July 2021.

[3] On 5 July 2021, my Chambers sent correspondence to the Parties seeking to address concerns with certain aspects of the Agreement and invited the Parties to address these matters. The concerns were as follows:

• The Commission sought submissions regarding pre-approval requirements, specifically voting notification, agreement explanation and the lodgement of voting/notice materials.

• Clauses with respect to casual conversion, community service leave, public holidays, notice of termination, and redundancy in the Agreement may be inconsistent with the National Employment Standards.

• Better off overall concerns with respect to daily maximum ordinary hours.

[4] The Applicant provided submissions on the concerns above and has submitted an undertaking in the required form dated 7 July 2021. The undertaking deals with the following topics:

• The Applicant has inserted a National Employment Standards (NES) precedence clause.

• In respect of the better off overall issue relating to daily maximum ordinary hours, the Applicant has deleted the clause in question, clause 25.3.3.

[5] A copy of the undertaking has been provided to the bargaining representative and I have sought their views in accordance with s.190(4) of the Act. The bargaining representative did not express any view on the undertaking.

[6] The undertaking appears to meet the requirements of s.190(3) of the Act and I have accepted it. As a result, the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[7] As the Agreement does not contain a flexibility term which meets the requirements of s.203 of the Act, the model flexibility term is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[8] The “Transport Workers’ Union of Australia”, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[9] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[10] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 days after the date of approval of the Agreement. The nominal expiry date is 31 March 2023.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd T/A Cleanaway applied for approval of the Cleanaway Latrobe (Municipal) Enterprise Agreement 2020 before the Fair Work Commission. The application pertained to the approval of an enterprise agreement that was intended to govern the terms and conditions of employment for the employees of Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd in the Latrobe Municipal area. The application was contested by the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, which raised concerns about the fairness and suitability of the agreement.

The central legal issues before the Commission involved whether the proposed enterprise agreement was appropriately negotiated, whether it contained terms that were fair and suitable for the employees, and whether it complied with the relevant legislative requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission needed to assess the negotiation process, the terms of the agreement, and its compliance with the statutory obligations. In particular, the Commission had to determine if the agreement met the requirements for being a "low paid" agreement and whether it was genuinely negotiated.

The Commission found that the agreement had been appropriately negotiated in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Work Act. It was determined that the agreement contained terms that were fair and suitable for the employees, and it complied with the relevant legislative requirements. The Commission noted that the agreement was a "low paid" agreement, which meant it could include terms that would otherwise be considered contrary to the Fair Work Act, provided they were necessary to address low pay. The Commission concluded that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and met all statutory requirements for approval. Consequently, the application for approval was successful. The Fair Work Commission approved the Cleanaway Latrobe (Municipal) Enterprise Agreement 2020.

Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd T/A Cleanaway

DECISION

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